SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 201

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 201 - May/29/23
Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)
  • May/29/23 7:56:34 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, there has been a lot of debate in this place about the extent to which public spending contributes to inflation. I am wondering if the minister believes that all public spending contributes to inflation, or just certain kinds.
40 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • May/29/23 7:56:49 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, one of the things we have paid a lot of attention to in the budget, and in all of our budgets, is making investments that increase Canada's economic capacity, and we believe that investments that do that can actually be anti-inflationary.
45 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:57:12 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, for instance, does the minister believe that the GST rebate, which is targeted at low-income Canadians, was an inflationary spending item?
24 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:57:22 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, I would like to start by talking about early learning and child care, if I may, because for me that is the poster child of an investment that actually adds to Canada's economic capacity—
38 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
The Chair
  • May/29/23 7:57:36 p.m.
  • Watch
The hon. member.
3 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:57:37 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, I will take the minister to be saying that she does not believe that investing in child care is inflationary. Does she believe that doubling the GST rebate two times was an inflationary spend by government?
38 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:57:51 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, we need to be very careful in our budgets about a couple of things. We had an eye on a few things. One was being sure we found a balance between fiscal responsibility, between our deficit and debt—
41 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
The Chair
  • May/29/23 7:58:15 p.m.
  • Watch
I am doing the time thing. I just want to make sure I am okay with this. The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.
24 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:58:16 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, does the finance minister believe that the GST rebate was an inflationary spend or not?
17 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:58:34 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, I believe that the GST rebate and the grocery rebate were spending that was necessary to give help to the people who needed it the most.
28 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:58:39 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that pharmacare, which is a program that would lower the amount Canadians spend on prescription drugs against the current amount they spend, would be inflationary?
31 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:58:51 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, whether spending is inflationary depends obviously on the macroeconomic conditions of the moment and on how the programs are designed and delivered.
24 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:59:04 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, how can lowering prices be inflationary?
8 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:59:09 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, again, as I know the member for Elmwood—Transcona knows, everything depends on how programs are designed, and everything depends also on the macroeconomic conditions of the moment. If I talk to someone from Japan, they are keen to have inflationary spending, because they have been in a deflationary spiral for a long time.
57 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:59:28 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, does over $30 billion in infrastructure spending risk being inflationary?
12 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 7:59:36 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, again, the macroeconomic impact of any policy measure depends very much on the macroeconomic circumstance of the time. For us, compassion is important. Fiscal responsibility—
28 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
The Chair
  • May/29/23 7:59:53 p.m.
  • Watch
The hon. member.
3 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 7:59:55 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, infrastructure investments are important, but they can also be inflationary. Does the minister recognize that infrastructure spending can be inflationary?
22 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 8:00:04 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, sure, I absolutely recognize that very many different types of spending can be inflationary or not, depending on the overall macroenvironment in a country and in the world and depending on how that spending is structured.
38 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/29/23 8:00:22 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, the government has been spending over $30 billion on the TMX pipeline. It has a $15-billion growth fund. Does the minister share concern that the $30 billion being spent on a pipeline is going to bid up the cost of projects that the growth fund would invest in?
51 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border